Day care costs draining parents (you helped with this story)

I know we all complain about the cost of child care, but Chris Churchill’s story in Sunday’s print edition of the Times Union really shows what a hardship it is for parents. In fact, New York State has the second highest child-care costs in the nation.

10 Responses

It cost us just short of $20,000 a year for two in daycare. My husband and I make good money but not enough where we don’t feel the weekly payments. We can’t afford not to work because we need the health care and future security (my pension). My oldest is coming out of daycare and entering school. We are so excited to only have to pay for one. It will be like getting a raise!! Well deserved after all these years of payments!!

I don’t know of anything that is really done to help parents. “Middle-class” families like mine are hurting because, as I said, we make more money than daycare costs but paying $20k is tough. I do dependent care and appreciate the tax benefit but I can only claim $5000 per year! That does not even cover one child.

When we were rasing our chldren we worked opposite shifts just so we were covered. Day care was expensive even back then. I remember one job i wanted to take i would of have to used my entire paycheck and then some from my husbands just to pay the sitter. Needless to say for awhile it was better for me to be a stay at home mom. Now fast forward twentyfive years. We are raising our grandchildren and guess what?.. we are working opposite shifts and weekends. I had checked into one local day care and it would of cost us onehundredfiftyfive dollars a week.. but that wasnt the whole week that was for tuesday wednesday and thursdays. I was afraid to ask how much to add the other two days on.

Daycare is too expensive, but I have to work. We (my husband & I) can’t afford not to especially with how expensive things are. Luckily, my mom watches my daughter. If I had to pay for daycare, I wouldn’t have any money to pay bills. I think it’s too expensive and more needs to be done to help out middle class families.

We did not work two full-time jobs simultaneously. When I did work, it was part-time/alternating hours. Our kids were our priority, and I do not believe young children raised by strangers is a good idea. Have a traveling gypsy vacation (kids don’t know you’re not paying for a resort hotel). We still use some of the same money-saving strategies used then (i.e., consider a sub on vacation instead of a $40 lunch), but that’s because I’m a bit of a cheapskate.

Unfortunately, I know many people in #1’s situation – the lower paying job is the one with health care, so both parents end up working even when it doesn’t seem to make economic sense in the short term. Even in jobs that do offer health insurance for the employee, fewer and fewer of them are offering family plans. Given that the cost of private insurance is often the same or more than day care, it makes sense to go to work and at least keep yourself in the job market and have little financial security if one parent loses his or her job.

My children are both in daycare and they are not being “raised by strangers.” They are being raised by teachers who love them and have known them for three years. Everyone has their opinion about daycare and whether or not it makes sense for their family and career situation. Utilizing daycare does not mean my kids are not my priority and it does not mean my husband and I are bad parents. I take exception everytime those who do no have children in daycare imply otherwise.

I don’t know what we would do if we had to pay for childcare. My husband is the stay at home parent. His company closed a few years ago and while he was looking for a job I got pregnant. We decided it would be easier and cheaper for him to just stay home. His parents give him respite 3 days a week so it’s not like he doesn’t have time to do other things. Right now I’m on the last hinges of my job – they are taking my funding away and therefore unless I want to work for free… $20,000? Crazy, just crazy.

I was lucky enough to have spent the past three years as a stay at home mom. Now that my oldest is going into kindergarten and my youngest is 18 months behind her, I was finally comfortable accepting a full-time job.

My first year working with both children in daycare cost me money. After missing work days due to pink eye and teething fevers, I didn’t even earn what I paid for child care. That made it a no brainer, for me, to stay home.

Now with the saving in family health insurance, the reduction of cost for the children being older, and a higher paying position, working will make sense. My daughter will have 3 months to become acclimated to the social settings of “school” and my youngest won’t be bored without her sister to play with.

It has finally become a win-win for our family. I don’t think it’s fair to make assumptions or judge others as #4 has. Each family has different needs, wants, desires etc. I have been on both sides of this and neither has been easy because ultimately it didn’t matter what I wanted, every decision was based on our family as a whole.

The best 3 years of my life have been spent raising my children at home but now, I am looking forward to going back to work. In two short years my house will be empty during the day and it seemed silly to turn down an amazing offer (in such a bad market) if we could justify the ends to the means.

I give kudos to every family in this situation and especially to single parents because it has not been easy to always be sure we were doing the right thing.

luvpudders – Wow, aren’t you lucky that your jobs allowed alternative work schedules. Most of us don’t have that option; 9-5 no matter what. And I’ll be sure to cancel that luxury condo in Aruba. Why didn’t I think of that? Oh wait, that’s because I don’t take vacations.

Your biases and pre-conceptions are showing how strongly you feel the need to justify your decision. I’m sure it was difficult for you to do that, and congratulations on making it work. Now let up on the rest of us for having different lives and therefore making different choices. You don’t know my life, and you cannot judge without that knowledge. You wouldn’t want anyone else to do that to you…

It is a painful decision to have to send your child to daycare.very parent struggles with the decisions and makes the one best for THEIR family and it is rude and disrespectful to assume or insinuate otherwise. We cannot afford for one of us to stay home and honestly we will not be having any other children because we cannot afford to pay $25-30k for childcare. I would love to give my son a sibling but it isn’t going to happen. It is appalling that middle class struggling families get no help with childcare – the minimal $5000 tax deduction is pretty cheesy and doesn’t even come close to making it less painful. I, for one, would appreciate a bigger deduction on my taxes- or even make it a true credit, something to allow us to breathe a bit and not worry all the time.